Guilt
by Sammy Heroes
Summary: Villains are heartless and cold. Or so that's how they're supposed to be. So why does he feel so guilty? Oh, right. He let someone die in a fire. Someone close to him. And now, alone and in jail, he gets a visit he never expected. (One shot)


The cell's walls were a constant reminder of where he was. Jail. There were many names written or carved on the concrete. Names of criminals. Sometimes he debated whether or not to carve his own in there. He was in jail now, but he wasn't a criminal. Ok, maybe he was, but for a good cause!

He wanted to avenge his daughter. Doesn't every father will do that for their kids?

_But you killed people along the way…_

He did. But that kid had stood in the way. He ran into the fire. It was not his fault.

_Yet again, he went in to save your sorry ass…_

It wasn't his business.

_He looked up to you, you were important to him…_

Callaghan covered his face with his hands. Now he had to reputation of a supervillain. Great. All because he wanted to avenge his daughter.

_And you let your best student die in front of you…_

He definitely needed a knife to carve his name on the damned wall. He was a criminal. Not because he tried to destroy Krei. Not because he wanted revenge on his supposed-to-be-dead daughter. But because he let his best student die when he had the chance to save him.

_You are a monster, Robert… You're so disgusting…_

No, he wasn't. He was just too blind with pain and hatred to care for anybody else. To even try to save someone he considered a son.

_You let him burn alive…_

No…

_The flames… They will follow you… haunt you… A constant reminder of that boy…_

No… He was not a monster. He was just too blind…

_The Flames… The Boy… His Little Brother… You murderer…_

No, he was NOT a murder…

_His name was Tadashi Hamada… You murdered him…_

"Enough!" He shouted to no one in particular, grabbing his hair in the process. He panted. Those voices. He started to hear those days after coming to jail. They wouldn't leave him in peace. He guessed those were his inner demons.

He sobbed. He knew that someone as despicable and evil as him could not cry, but he couldn't help it. His daughter had only visited once. ONCE. He didn't know if she was coming back. All that mattered was that she was safe and sound. But no one else had visited him. No loved ones. No students. No one. Just the guards and some other prisoners that would once in a while beat him up.

He longed for those days were he was back in his quiet lab, back to inventing, back to teaching, back to his old life.

But that was not going to happen. There was a judgment. The jury condemned him to fifty years in jail. He would be dead long before those years were up. There was nothing he could do. He gladly took his punishment. Accepting the consequences of his actions. Accepting that he killed…

No, he would not think of that boy. He refused to do so. He couldn't think of Hiro, neither.

Oh, Hiro. It would have been wonderful to have a class with him. To teach him new techniques of robotics along with his brother. It could have happened. If he hadn't had the 'brilliant' idea to steal the Microbots. If he hadn't, he was sure he would be sitting at his desk, teaching his students the wonders of science. But that was now a far, far away dream...

_Very far indeed. Ja, ja, ja!_

"Stop it." Robert snapped at the laughing voices.

His thoughts turned to Tadashi. He had seen him coming to his rescue. He could still hear his last words.

"_Professor! Where are you?"_

He shook his head. He was pretty sure he was going to go crazy. And probably die because of that, if not for the constant beating of the other prisoners. He turned his head towards his prison uniform. Orange with an identification number. Nothing else. Orange wasn't really his color.

Orange was the color of the flames.

So it was true what the voices said. That the flames would haunt him down. And ironically, it was the color of his uniform. Damn it.

"That kid won't leave me alone." He mumbled.

"No, I won't." A voice said from his back.

Robert looked at his side and his eyes widened in terror. He fell from the edge of the bed and crawled backwards towards the wall with the carved names. His back hit the concrete. He did not believed what he saw. Yep, he was just plain crazy.

There, leaning against the wall with the small bars that were the only window of his cells, stood the boy. He was still wearing the same clothes he had THAT day. It was him. It was Tadashi. He gasped in fear, but no scream came from his mouth.

Tadashi walked towards him and stopped a few feet away from him. He looked down at him in pity. "Callaghan." He simply said, like his voice was full of venom.

Robert gulped. "Tadashi…" He whispered. "But you… you were…"

"Dead?" He laughed coldly at that word. "It's true. I'm dead."

"Then I'm crazy if I'm seeing you."

Tadashi glared down at him. "No, you're not. I just came by to pay a little visit."

Robert looked at him closely. The kid had minor burns on his arms and neck, but his clothing seemed fine. Good as new, even. Except for his favorite cap. It was nowhere in sight. "What is this visit all about?"

Tadashi looked away. "Apparently, my loved ones can't see me. But those who I came to hate do. And that makes you the only person in the world who can see me." He looked back at him, hatred in his eyes. Robert knew that hatred once.

"And you came to take revenge."

Tadashi's gaze softened. "No."

"No?" Robert was confused now.

"I'm not like you."

Robert stared at him in silence.

"That doesn't mean I don't hate you."

"Oh…" Too bad, he was kind of feeling hopeful.

"My parents thought me better. My aunt thought me better."

Robert couldn't stop looking at him. "Why… why are you here then?"

"Why? Well, that's rather simple. I just came for a visit. To chat a little."

"To remind me of what I did." That came almost like a whisper.

"No, that's not what I said."

"With your presence here, you do."

Tadashi stayed silent for a moment. Then, resumed talking. "I have seen your daughter. She misses you."

Robert frowned. "What were you dong spying on my daughter?"

Tadashi shrugged. "I have nothing better to do now that I'm dead. Other than my unfinished business here and all that stuff, blah, blah, blah." He looked down at Robert. "She loves you to bits. But she can't look at you here. She's not ready to come back to this place. Only the mere thought of her father in jail is painful for her."

Robert looked down. His daughter still loved him, but she was still a bit shaken and afraid.

"I see." He felt a little better now, but not quite.

"That's all I wanted to tell you." He turned around and walked towards the wall, ready to leave.

"Wait." Robert said. Tadashi stopped. Robert took a deep breath. "Why did you come to tell me this?"

Tadashi did not turned. "It's in my nature, I guess. Always trying to help people. Even those with the stone cold hearts." He lowered his head. "I don't forgive you and I still hate you. But I'm not heartless. It seemed only right." He finally looked at Robert. There was a sadness in his eyes. Robert recognized that sadness. The sadness of someone that couldn't be with his loved ones. "That was what pushed me to try to save you when I thought you were dead." He looked away, but continued talking. He sighed. "I would have done the same thing you did if I thought someone had killed my brother. We are humans and we make mistakes." He still did not looked at him. "There are no villains, just troubled souls that need help. Remember that."

"You… you are dead and… you still look after people?"

"Like I said, is in my nature."

Robert looked at Tadashi as he walked pass right through the wall. He was gone and Robert was all alone in his cell. He looked at his feet and hugged his knees. _'There are no villains, just troubled souls that need help…_' Tadashi's voice ringed in his head.

Now those words only made him feel worse. Yep, he definitely need to carve his name on the wall. And probably ask for a transfer to the mad house.

_Yeah, you do..._

"Stop it."

_Jajaja!_

**Hope you liked this little piece I wrote today. If you want to know about Tadashi's unfinished business, go to my profile and click on 'Ghost' fanfic. **


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